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‘Weak mandate for Locke’: On social media, voters react to Surrey election results

Brenda Locke narrowly beat incumbent Doug McCallum in the race for mayor
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Surrey mayor-elect Brenda Locke speaks to Surrey Connect party supporters at Mirage Banquet Hall in Cloverdale on election night Saturday, Oct. 15, 2022. (Photo: Anna Burns)

Surrey’s civic election results caused a stir on social media Saturday night (Oct. 15) when Brenda Locke narrowly beat incumbent Doug McCallum in the race for mayor.

With 28 per cent of the vote, Surrey Connect candidate Locke, who is currently a first-term city councillor, topped Safe Surrey’s McCallum with 32,633 votes to 32,098, according to the latest results.

CLICK HERE for the results.

“Let’s restore the soul of Surrey! Soon to be the largest city in BC,” tweeted Surrey Board of Trade CEO Anita Huberman, who congratulated Locke for her win.

“Surrey Board of Trade hopes that the city’s new civic government will always be open for dialogue even with different perspectives.”

Locke has vowed to halt the policing transition in Surrey and retain the RCMP.

Surrey Police Union offered congratulations to the mayor-elect, adding, “Although we have not seen eye-to-eye the last few years, we are looking forward to meeting all the newly elected officials and moving forward with the SPS transition.”

Also on Twitter, Jo Speaks weighed in: “SPS is here to stay. 10% of Surrey voted for Locke, NDP will never risk their election prospects over that.… Such a weak mandate for Locke.”

Another Twitter user, L. Probost (@yorkie_daisy), chimed in on the policing issue: “Doug McCallum was criticized for having low voter support for major step like bringing in Surrey Police. Is 28% support today sufficient for Ms Locke to bring back RCMP?”

Added Frank Jang: “Interesting times lie ahead for Surrey.”

South Surrey-White Rock MP Kerry-Lynne Findlay also congratulated Locke for her win. “I look forward to working together to continue to improve the quality of life for all residents and businesses in @CityofSurrey.”

Voter turnout in #SurreyBC was 34.54 per cent — just a hair more than the last election in 2018. Four years ago, the voter turnout was 32.89 per cent, or 110,920 of 337,289 eligible voters. This time around, there are 344,268 eligible voters.



tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com

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Tom Zillich

About the Author: Tom Zillich

I cover entertainment, sports and news stories for the Surrey Now-Leader, where I've worked for more than half of my 30-plus years in the newspaper business.
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